Tuesday, 10 April 2012

The price of a little dreaming

Dream a little dream

There’s much written and talked
about the psychology of lottery ticket buying. Some say that you’re already
making a loss when you hand over your hard-earned cash, choose your lucky
numbers and then wait with anticipation for the draw.

If you’re amongst the
ranks of the disappointed millions then you’ve not only lost your stake but
also your dreams have been crushed.

Buying a lottery ticket is
tapping in to your lucky streak and conjuring up a host of images about what
your perfect life will look like once you’ve hit the jackpot.

I own a frigging island!

Your hopes and
dreams come alive and, in front of your eyes as if on a conveyor belt, passes
all of the life’s luxuries that have your name on it – designer clothes and
shoes, a brand spanking new eight
bedroomed home complete with walk-in wardrobes and five acres of landscaped
gardens in the best neighbourhood, a couple of convertibles and four wheel drives,
playbooks and electronic tablets that you can just hand out to friends and
family like jelly beans, holiday
apartments, cottages and vacations
(adventuresome / relaxing) to every
corner of the globe (the world gets real small when you’re one of the big
winners!).

Lady Gaga of the Lottery

There’s an innate belief in all
of us that we’re lucky. Lady Luck smiles on us but she sometimes excludes us
from the fold. She’s a fickle taskmaster who only bestows good fortune on the
chosen few or so we believe when we’re nursing our losses. But she never turns
against us completely and so we carry on religiously purchasing our ticket and
checking the numbers.

The Alps don't cost me a thing!

Some people will say that this is
deluded behavior.
Millions upon millions of losers playing a game in which
there are just a few or even one winner. Well, I say play on.

This is wealth
creation and the organizations behind the lottery filter some of the funds into
charitable ventures. This assists with poverty alleviation and when winners
spend their windfall on services or goods money circulates and contributes to a
healthful economy.

Some lottery winners are generous.
They pay off the mortgages of their friends and family, treat them to
unexpected, lavish gifts and fill their world with happiness, as they define
it. Money doesn’t buy ultimate happiness but it provides temporary
pleasures (and who couldn't use a few of those?!).

I’ve seen the lights in
childrens’ eyes – or is that dollar signs (!!??)- when they get to swim with
dolphins and meet their favourite Disney heroes. When grandma is able to travel
first class to long haul destinations to be reunited with family, Mum gets
regular pampering sessions and doesn’t have to work right up to retirement, Dad
can finally achieve his ambition of learning to fly a bi-plane and struggling
friends and relatives are relieved of their financial burdens by the largesse
of a winner, then we should all be celebrating.

Dreams are good for the soul

Some lottery winners are mean and
stay that way despite their new found millions. That’s human nature and there
are two sides to every coin. I don’t want to devote any blog space to these
close minded and tight fisted people. In my opinion they’re miserly whether
they’re rich or poor and, in my book, they’re life’s losers!

It's for sharing

When lottery winners fritter away
their money, the organizers get a bad press though it’s a powerful
assertion of human rights.

It’s your money to spend how you please. The tax man
can’t touch it. You’ll have investment houses hounding you and if you haven’t
the good sense to take them up on their offers that’s your look-out!

I feel like a million dollars even when I don't win

I don’t play the lottery very
often but I never stand in the way of others doing so. I don’t have any
sanctimonious offerings on the subject. You might be the goose that lays the
golden ticket and I wouldn’t deprive you of the chance of unlimited wealth.

If
the lottery spreads a little optimism and helps dreamers dream a little bigger
then who am I to pour cold water on that.

The price of a ticket is minimal
but only you know the true value you place on that.
Dreams, after all, are personal and happiness
is up to you….even when you don’t have the winning numbers.

If you were a winner I’d love to know how you’d spend those zillions. Let me know by leaving a comment.

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About Me

Wisdomona is a perfectly formed creature in the ocean of life - confidently humble! If all the answers lie within then this oyster is waiting to spill her pearls of wisdom.
So here are my musings,wonderings and ponderings which may both amuse and horrify but will always be unadulterated thinking.......honest yet controversial. I'll steer you through the crevasses and precipices of my mental meanderings so hold on tight!